Does My Puppy Have Fleas?

We have had our new 4 month old Border Collie puppy for over 2 weeks now. We put flea ointment on her at the nape of her neck the day we got her. She got filthy and so, we had to bathe her that same night. With this, we applied a little bit more flea ointment to her. She is still nibbling at her skin with her front teeth, particularly on her legs.

Is this fleas or just because she is a pup?

What did you use on her, can you remember? It may be fleas. A good way to try and test is too have a damp piece of white kitchen roll and hold it flat next to her , then brush out her coat towards it. Any black specs that turn red on the kitchen roll are likely to be flea dirts.
Its not fail safe but if this does happen then she has fleas.

I'm not at home at the moment so can't remember but it was one of the main High Street ones. It's in a yellow and blue packet if that helps

The stuff you get from the pet shops etc. isn't usually that good - you're probably better getting it from the vets.

The other possibility is that it could be a slight allergy. Some foods (particularly those with artificial colourings/flavourings) can cause itchy skin. However, I wouldn't start thinking about that unless you're sure she hasn't got fleas and she's still nibbling herself.

As already said, petshop brands of flea treatments and wormers are generally not all that effective. Your best bet is to go to your vet and get a flea treatment from them, they will most likely give you something like Frontline or Stronghold or something similar.

If puppy does have fleas then you will need to treat your house aswell. Whilst the spot on treatment/spray ons will kill the fleas on your dog, they will not kill the fleas in the environment. The result? Fleas in the house jump on the dog and you have a never ending problem. Your vet will be able to advise you on a house treatment aswell (I have used RIP Fleas which was fantastic!). Once the house is treated, provided all animals are kept flea free, you should not have to treat your house again. When treating your house make sure you treat all upholstrey (sp?) including carpets, sofas and beds.

Hope this helps

Oh just to add if you have any other animals in the house including cats etc, you should treat them aswell, because if your puppy has fleas then they will jump from animal to animal.